Microsoft and Xbox One face fundamental problems, with or without DRM

It is and always was about trust. Microsoft and its supporters scrambled to say what Xbox One could and perhaps should be doing for a sustainable digital future, but to no avail. Sharing restrictions and online check-ins might yet be part of that landscape, but the verdict from game players is clear: they don’t want to go there via Redmond.

Yes, firstly the Xbox One DRM damage is already done. Secondly people won't and should not forget that Microsoft attempted to block them from doing whatever they pleased with their games, forced them to play a console that couldn't work without internet access, and then told them if they can't find access, stick to Xbox 360.

Then Kinect is still mandatory, and Xbox One is still $100 more expensive than PS4.

Plus there are the ESRAM and Yield issues keeping the console back, and affording only limited stock at launch. That is why GameStop stopped taking preorders.

MS wasn't forcing anyone to play their console, you don't have to buy one if you don't want to. Hence the reason why the PS4 pre-orders started to rocket.

They gave you a choice, a restricted console or a PS4. People chose the PS4. Then the media, then Jimmy Fallon, then the Navy, and it just kept piling on.

Fact of the matter is, MS backpedaled because the bottomline would've taken a hit. Now they'll see success, but they'll never be rid of this issue's sting, they'll be haunted by it for the rest of their console making days.

Have they lost the generation? No. Are they behind in terms of public goodwill? Judging by this site's response, almost irreparably so.

@Below: "but generations are lost and won at the beginning"

If that were the case, Sony would've lost this generation. Compare the Sony of 2006 to the Sony of 2013. Complete turnaround.

Edge are absolutely spot on here. Microsoft have compromised their so-called vision as a result of their u-turn.

They have a higher price point, with an inferior piece of tech and a perceived loss of faith on the part of indie developers. Contrast this to Sony who have:

* A significantly cheaper console * A more powerful console * Developer friendly WITH lots of indie developer confidence * And very imporantly; no compromises on what they have stated. They have remained steadfast from the very beginning and have not been derailed at all.

Edge aren't exaggerating here at all; the Xbox One is in big trouble and I suspect that there is a lot of confusion and running around in the background.

allformats, actually alot of people really liked what micro was doing once they started giving cocessions/outlining the benefits/conveniences that the drm allowed. The true failure of micro was the poorly planned reveal of their used game policy....all they had to do is just say right up front heres the drm restrictions, but heres what you get in return, instead they initially just tried to implement drm with no mention of whats in it for us. Also its been #1 on Amazon before all this mess and its currently still #1 http://www.amazon.com/best-... So obviously nothings been so bad this early that alot of gamers weren't going to buy it. Ask yourself why the game sites and Amazon polls heavily favored ps4 but game stores and Amazon all have talked about how strong X1 preorders are?.... well because the minority will vote in polls the millions more people never stop to say they like a product when they like it they will just vote with their wallets.

But the reality is that the original plan for the Xbox One was to digitize content and the online requirement was a form of DRM to cope with that. The problem is that lots of people don't want that so they changed it.

I'm tired of people going on about how Microsoft is evil and trying to screw people over, they are a corporation like every other one: all they want is money. But in order to get it you have to appeal to the consumer which they haven't been very good at until recently IMO.

And about the eSram yield rumor it has been confirmed by Microsoft that it's not true.

Where did this conversation come from. It seems so out of place on this site.

MS will be fine this generation. I believe they will prosper. Gaming sites represent a small part of the people that buy consoles. MS started out bad with their PR, but they still have a chance to repair the damage done with the majority of the public. Having some of the nonsense spread like with Fallon's used games remark hurt, but that audience is fixable. The group that will persist with the hate were going to go with the PS4 anyway. I believe MS really has a chance to increase the number of users even beyond what Nintendo did with the Wii. And that is why they will win this generation.

In all honesty, I don't even think that Sony believes that a portable can WIN a generation against Nintendo. What they DO believe is that there is a bunch of money to be had in that space and the more that they can take from Nintendo, the better. Gamers speak in terms of wins and losses. Businesses speak in terms of marketshare and revenue.

Kinect being mandatory does make sense for the Xbox One, though. It's perhaps the most immediately recognizable advancement the console presents, and enforcing mandatory connection means developers can leverage Kinect 2's features in their software and not worry about splitting the user base in any way. They are ensuring that Kinect adoption is high and features are used in just about every Xbox One game, to varying degrees of triviality or importance.

Judging by the reveal, it is quite central to the console's operation, and disconnecting it would eliminate many of the benefits (or some of the point) of having an Xbox One, particularly with regards to user experience.

While Kinect may offer little to the gamer, it actually seems to have entranced a lot of the casuals.

I'm still not buying one for a while at least, before the DRM 180 I was never going to buy it. But I still don't trust them, and I will wait about 2 years to see if they flip flop on it.

5? I'm on my 7th. (all under warranty) MS customer services were great and did give me some freebies for my troubles. I got Halo 3, Viva Piniata, an extra controller and even an entire free 360. So I can't really complain.

my one and only 360 died (before ms were fixing them) went in the trash where it belonged. Will never forgive them for that waste of £400. THANKFULLY i was ABLE to sell the tens of games i'd bought for it on ebay/amazon and make some good money back - bought a PS3 with it (now got 2 ps3s rock solid slim and fatty)

Well Said Hell yes, people that are getting tired of hearing this just have a saturated brain filled with mundane fairytales coming from the media or a low attention span...this shit is ridiculous and nobody should accept this in exchange for their love of games & freedoms. This shit shouldn't be mixed with games at all. We didn't ask for this. It is real and shameful enough to be confronted with these facts that D'heads behind the scenes are acting like peeping tom. We must realise that they are ACTUALLY watching...this unacceptable to have in the living room. People that still feel that this is just BS need to READ more...it has never been more real. I hope they will pass a law that forbids companies from selling surveillance technology cloaked as an entertainment device. Shame on people accepting this.

Look at my disagrees. I am kind of shocked. I would think more people would not want this kind of behavior. Everything that has been coming out about all of the scandals really scares me. People need to wake up and pay attention this is NOT a joke.

Microsoft lost all the credibility, first with core customers ( console for TV and Kinect) and later with publishers( the company failed at its compromisses with big indutries like EA), only the most radicals fanboys will buy this stuff. The machine is expensive, uses older technology, is designed for watch tv and the kinect is mandatory. A lot of nasty surprises could come in the future from a company filled of doubts.

The technology in the Ps4 and XB1 are of the same age. DDr 3 is not older then Gddr5, in fact, Gddr5 is based on DDr3. And its not designed for TV, its designed to do multiple things, uncluding gaming and tv

Why do people always make so much assumptions.

Besides, even if it where older, that doesnt mean a thing, my I7 is older then the Xb1 and Ps4, and it destroys both in power.

Fox...The assumptions are made based on the reveal, which was focused more on the TV functions. Then, add in the media which also seemed disappointed by the focus on TV. Both consoles are designed to do multiple things. The problem for MS is how to get that message out WITHOUT seeming to abandon it's core gamers. Right now, they don't seem to know HOW to market and what message they really want to portray.

Like I understand why people are all up in arm screaming that they dont care about their customers and they are spying on you and so forth, but seriously, Sony and even Nintendo are by no means "clean" companies.

I am 98% sure what happened was, Microsoft thought Sony was going to do something with DRM as well. In fact, a lot of us did, and I do not buy for one second that Sony never considered it. The biggest dead give away was the patent they filed for to tie the disc to a console.

Microsoft has always been a company that has a vision and sticks to it. Look at Windows 8. Lots of people complained and do nothing but bash it, yet Microsoft is sticking to what they believe Windows should be. When Sony bet on Blu Ray and forced adoption in the PS3, did that make them somehow not care about their customers? No, it is a company believing they need to innovate to move the industry forward.

When Sony didn't announce they had any DRM of any kind, I think Microsoft was shocked. Hell, I was shocked. I think this is why Microsoft was so wishy washy on the whole DRM "benefits." I have a feeling at the reveal more information got out then they wanted to, and they wanted to wait till E3 to see what Sony was going to do, until they revealed if they were going with a digital or disc based focus. I mean they turned around within a few days. Most companies wouldn't come to that decision so quickly.

I really dont think this will hurt Microsoft in the long run.

Did they hurt their fan base? Very few, if any.

Any please for the love of monkies, stop saying their main focus is on TV. Their E3 press conference showed they have plenty of games, including a great line up of exclusives.

@JokesOnYou - did you actually look at the Amazon best sellers charts you posted a link to...

Yes, the XBoxOne is in the number one spot but the PS4 is in five other spots... the XBoxOne is just one version... the PS4 has five different bundles, not just the one... so not all is all it appears on the Amazon top sellers charts (even more so if you dont bother to look at all the different bundles of a single system)...

One could easily say the PS4 is out selling the XBoxOne on Amazon due to the fact its in five different positions on the chart... add their totals up all together... see what happens